Rates of Reaction

Practical Methods to investigate rate

1. When zinc is added to dilute sulfuric acid, they react together. The zinc disappears
slowly, and a gas is released as bubbles.
2. As time goes by, the gas bubbles release more and more slowly. This is a sign that the
reaction is slowing down.
3. Finally, no more bubbles appear. The reaction is over because all the acid has been
used up. Some zinc remains behind.
Continuation
 The gas that bubbles off is hydrogen. The equation for the reaction is:
Zinc + Sulfuric acid  Zinc Sulfate + hydrogen
Zn (s) + H2SO4 (aq)  ZnSO4 (aq) + H2 (g)
 Both zinc and sulfuric acid get used up in the reaction. At the same time, zinc sulfate and
hydrogen form.
 For this reaction, it is easiest to measure the amount of hydrogen produced per minute,
since it is the only gas that forms. It can be collected as it bubbles off, and its volume can
be measured.
 In general, to find the rate of a reaction, you should measure:
 The amount of a reactant used up per unit of time or
 The amount of a product produced per unit of time
Continuation
 magnesium + hydrochloric acid  magnesium chloride + hydrogen
Mg (s) + 2HCl (aq)  MgCl2 (aq) + H2 (g)
 Clean the magnesium with sandpaper. Put dilute hydrochloric acid in the flask. Drop the
magnesium into the flask and insert the stopper and syringe immediately. Start the clock
at the same time.
Continuation
 Hydrogen begins to bubble off. It rises up the flask and into the gas syringe, pushing the
syringe out
1. At the start, no gas has yet been produced or collected, So the plunger is all the way
in and hasn’t moved.
2. Now the plunger has been pushed out to the 20cm3 mark. 20cm3 of gas have been
collected.
 The volume of gas in the syringe is noted at intervals
Continuation
Time/ mins 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5
Volume of H2 0 8 14 20 25 29 33 36 38 39 40 40 40 40
Given off/ cm3

 In the first minute, 14cm3 of hydrogen are produced. So the rate for the first minute is
14cm3 of hydrogen per minute.
 In the second minute, only 11cm3 are produced (25-14 = 11).
So the rate for the second minute is 11cm3 hydrogen per minute.
 The rate for the third minute is 8cm3 of hydrogen per minute. So the rate decreases as
time goes on.
 The rate changes all through the reaction.
It is greatest at the start but decreases as the reaction proceeds.
Continuation
 The reaction is fastest in the first minute, and the curve is steepest then. The gradient of
the line decreases as the reaction gets slower. The faster the reaction, the steeper the
curve.
 After 5 minutes, no more hydrogen is produced, so the volume no longer changes. The
reaction is over, and the curve goes flat. When the reaction is over, the curve goes flat.
 Altogether, 40cm3 of hydrogen are produced in 5 minutes.
Factors affecting the rate of reaction
 The five main ways to alter the rate of a chemical reaction are:
 Changing the concentration of the solutions
 Changing the pressure of gases
 Changing the surface area of solids
 Changing the temperature
 Adding or removing a catalyst including enzymes
 Collision theory:
For a chemical reaction to occur, reactant particles need to collide with one another. For
products to be formed, the collision must have a certain minimum amount of energy
associated with I, and not every collision results in the formation of products. This
minimum amount of energy is known as the activation energy, Ea. Collision which result
in the formation of products are known as successful collisions.

Effect of concentration on the rate

 A yellow precipitate is produced in the reaction between sodium thiosulfate and
hydrochloric acid.

 The rate of this reaction can be followed by recording the time taken for a given amount
of the yellow sulfur to be precipitated.
 This can be done by placing a conical flask containing the reaction mixture on to a cross
on a piece of paper. As the precipitate of sulfur forms, the cross is obscured and finally
disappears from view. The time taken for this to occur is a measure of the rate of this
reaction.
Continuation
 To obtain sufficient information about the effect of changing the concentration of the
reactants, several experiments of this type must be carried out, using different
concentrations of sodium thiosulfate or hydrochloric acid. If you are considering carrying
out this practical, take care as SO2 is released, which can cause breathing issues, especially
for asthmatics.
Some sample results of experiments of this kind have been plotted. You can see from the graph that when
the most concentrated sodium thiosulfate solution was used, the reaction was at its fastest. This is shown
by the shortest time taken for the cross to be obscured.
Continuation
 From the data shown in the previous graph, it is possible to produce a different graph which
directly shows the rate of the reaction against concentration rather than the time taken for the
reaction to occur against the concentration. To do this, the time can be converted to a rate
using.

Continuation
 The products of a reaction are formed because of the collisions between reactant
particles.
 An increase in concentration of reactants means that there are more particles per unit
volume.
 This means that there will be more frequent collisions between the reactant particles.
 This will lead to more frequent successful collisions between reactant particles.
 As a result, the rate of the chemical reaction will increase.
Continuation

 When three different concentrations of acids were used in three different experiments
and reacted with magnesium, the most concentrated acid gave the fastest rate of
reaction and the maximum volume of hydrogen gas.
 Here magnesium is in excess and hydrochloric acid is the limiting reagent, so the volume
of hydrogen gas produced is affected because hydrogen ions are present in the limiting
reagent.
Continuation
 When three different concentrations of acids were used in three different experiments
and reacted with magnesium, the most concentrated acid gave the fastest rate of
reaction.
 When hydrochloric acid is in excess and magnesium is the limiting reagent, the volume
of hydrogen gas produced is not affected because hydrogen ions are not present in the
limiting reagent. So the maximum volume of gas that was possible to be produced has
been produced in each experiment.

Effect of pressure of gases on the rate

 The effect of pressure on the rate of reaction is similar to the effect of concentration.
 An increase in pressure of gaseous reactants means that the gas particles are pushed
closer together, so there are more gaseous particles per unit volume.
 This means that there will be more frequent collisions between reactant particles.
 This will lead to more frequent successful collisions between reactant particles.
 As a result, the rate of the chemical reaction will increase.

Effect of surface area of the rate

 If the surface area of a reactant is increased, more particles are exposed to the other
reactant.
  This results in an increase in the number of collisions, and this results in an increase in
the number of successful collisions. Therefore, the increase in the surface area of the
limestone increases the rate of reaction.

Continuation
 Curve 2 is steeper than curve 1, This shows that the reaction is faster for the small chips.
In both experiments, the final loss in mass is 2.0 grams. In other words, 2.0 grams of
carbon dioxide are produced each time. For the small chips, the reaction is complete in
4 minutes. For the large chips, it takes 6 minutes. These results show that: The rate of a
reaction increases when the surface area of a solid reactant is increased.

Effect of temperature on the rate

 As the temperature increases, the reactant particles increase their kinetic energy.
 Some of the particles will have an energy greater than the activation energy, Ea, and
they move faster.
 The faster movement results in more frequent collisions between the particles.
 As a result there will be more frequent successful collisions.
 This causes the reaction rate to increase.
Continuation
 Dilute hydrochloric acid and sodium thiosulfate solution react to give a fine yellow
precipitate of sulfur.
 You can follow the rate of the reaction like this:
1. Mark a cross on a piece of paper.
2. Place a breaker containing sodium thiosulfate solution on top of the paper, so
that you can see the cross through it, from above.
3. Quickly add hydrochloric acid, start a clock at the same time, and measure the
temperature of the mixture.
 4. The cross grows fainter as the precipitate forms. Stop the clock the moment you
can no longer see the cross. Note the time.
5. Now repeat steps 1-4 several times, changing only the temperature. You do this
by heating the sodium thiosulfate solution to different temperatures, before
adding the acid.

Continuation

 The cross disappears when enough sulfur has formed to hide it. This took 200 seconds at
20C, but only 50 seconds at 40C. So the reaction is four times faster at 40C than at 20.
Continuation

 A reaction goes faster when the temperature is raised.

 When the temperature increases by 10C, the rate generally doubles.
Effect of adding/removing catalyst
 A catalyst is a substance that speeds up a chemical reaction but remains chemically
unchanged itself.

 You can show a catalyst affects the reaction, like this:

1. Pour some hydrogen peroxide into three measuring cylinders. The first one is the
control.
2. Add manganese (IV) oxide to the second, and raw liver to the third.
3. Now use a glowing wooden splint to test the cylinders for oxygen.
The splint will burst into flame if there is enough oxygen present.
 The rate of decomposition at room temperature is very slow.
Continuation

 There are substances that can speed up this reaction, one being manganese (IV) oxide.
When black manganese (IV) oxide powder is added to hydrogen peroxide solution,
 oxygen is produced rapidly. The rate at which this occurs can be seen by measuring the
volume of oxygen gas produced with time. Something in the raw liver acts as a catalyst
too. That ‘something’ is an enzyme called catalase.

Continuation
Chemists have found that:
 A small amount of catalyst will produce a large amount of chemical change
 Catalysts remain unchanged chemically after a reaction has taken place, but they can
change physically. For example, a finer manganese (IV) oxide powder is left behind after
the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide
 Catalysts are specific to a particular chemical reaction.

At the end of the reaction, the manganese (IV) oxide can be filtered off and used again. The reaction can
proceed even faster by increasing the amount and surface area of the catalyst. This is because the
activity of a catalyst involves its surface. Note that, in gaseous reactions, if dirt or impurities are present
on the surface of the catalyst, it will not act as efficiently.

Continuation
  A catalyst increases the rate of a chemical reaction by providing an alternative reaction path
which has a lower activation energy, Ea.
 A catalyst does not increase the number of collisions between the reactant particles but it
causes more of the collisions to become successful collisions, so increasing the rate of the
reaction.
 If the activation energy is lowered by using a catalyst then, on collision, more particles will go on
to produce products at a given temperature.

Effect of enzymes
 Enzymes are proteins made by cells, to act as biological catalysts.
 Enzymes are found in every living thing. You have thousands of different enzymes inside
you. For example catalase speeds up the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide in your
cells, before it can harm you. Amylase in your saliva speeds up the breakdown of the
starch in your food. Without enzymes, most of the reactions that take place in your
body would be far too slow at body temperature. You would die.
 For a reaction to take place, the reacting particles must collide with enough energy for
bonds to break and reaction to occur. When a catalyst is present, the reactants are able
to react in a way that requires less energy. This means that more collisions now have
enough energy to be successful. So the reaction speeds up. But the catalyst itself is
unchanged.
 Note that a catalyst must be chosen to suit the particular reaction. It may not work for
other reactions.
Continuation
 Biological catalysts operate only under very particular conditions.
 Enzymes all have an active site. The active site is a particular shape and locks into a
corresponding shape in a reactant molecule. When this has happened, the enzyme can
work to break up the reactant.
 Enzymes operate over a very narrow temperature range and, if the temperature
becomes too high, they become inoperative.
 At temperatures above about 45°C, they denature. This means that the specific shape of
the active site of the enzyme molecule changes due to the breaking of bonds. This
means that the reactant molecules are no longer able to fit into the active site.